The following discussion of the background of the invention is merely provided to aid the reader in understanding the invention and is not admitted to describe or constitute prior art to the present invention.
Transportation of material often requires specialized packaging to ensure security of the material being transported as well as safety for personnel handling the material. For example, the transport of biohazardous material, such as organs for transplant patients, requires that the material be maintained in an environment suitable to prevent contamination of the material, as well as to ensure safety of handlers of the material. In this regard, materials such as organs are typically placed in hardened containers that may be thermally insulated. The thermal insulation ensures that the material, which is often maintained at refrigeration-level temperatures, are suitable for their intended use upon delivery. The hardening of the containers ensures that the materials are not released to the external environment, thereby posing a threat to personnel in the vicinity. In this regard, the containers must be sufficiently insulated to satisfy standards relating to ability to withstand impacts from falls, for example.
The insulated containers, however, represent a significant waste in cargo space when they are empty. For example, once an organ has been delivered to its intended destination, the empty container is usually returned to its original source. During the return trip, the empty container occupies the same amount of cargo space in, for example, a cargo airplane as the full container. An alternative to occupying the valuable cargo space is to dispose of the empty container. However, this can be an expensive proposition since such containers are typically specially constructed for a particular use and can represent a significant investment.